Church of the Transfiguration 4000 E. Castro Valley Blvd., Castro Valley, CA 94552-4908

(510) 538-7941 Fax (510) 538-7983 E-mail: transfig_office@sbcglobal.net Website: www.transfigchurch.com December 20, 2015

Rev. Mario L. Borges, Pastor ● Rev. Terence O’Malley, Parochial Administrator Deacon Martin J. Leach ● Deacon John A. Mignano ● Deacon Timothy L. Moore ● Deacon Burton J. Rigley

LITURGICAL MINISTRY: Liturgy Coordinator, Sean Cooper Eucharistic Ministers, Stephen and Carina Kowalewski Lectors, Barbara Mehan Altar Servers, Alicia Antonio Youth Liturgy, Michelle Gilman

FINANCE COUNCIL: Chairman, Mark Zaleski

PARISH ORGANIZATIONS: Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), 60 Plus or Minus Club, Hospitality Committee

SAINT VINCENT de PAUL SOCIETY: (510) 274-0830 Serving our community.

SICK & HOMEBOUND MINISTRY: Claudia Paquette, (510) 537-8986

STEWARDSHIP: Chairperson, Ed Coelho, (510) 881-5705 WINGS “Women in God’s Spirit”: Bobbie Blackard,510-581-4149 HALL MANAGER: Pat Ballinger, (510) 537-1502

HALL RENTAL MANAGER: Ann McAusland, 510-239-7941

YOUTH MINISTRY: Sean Cooper, (510) 581-5870 or Transfig_Youth@sbcglobal.net PARISH OFFICE: Phone: (510) 538-7941 Fax: (510) 538-7983 Hours: 8:00 a.m. — 4:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday (Closed between 12:00 & 1:00 p.m.) Friday, 9:00a.m. — 12:00 Noon - Saturday & Sunday—Closed Secretary, Gloria Meeker Secretary/Bookkeeper, Phyllis Moore

SCHEDULE OF MASSES Saturdays 4:00 p.m. Sundays 7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. (Except First Fridays - 9:30 a.m.) Communion Service - Saturdays, 8:00 a.m. CONFESSIONS Saturdays 3:00-3:45 p.m. BAPTISMS: Pre-baptismal class is required. Class is held the second Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. in the Marian Room, Parish Hall. Please call the Parish Office, 538-7941, to register. MATRIMONY: Six months advance notice required. Please call the parish office. WEDDING COORDINATOR: Mel Speed (510) 909-9334 or melspeed@live.com FUNERALS: Please contact the funeral home of your choice and then the parish office. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: Director, Patrice Ballinger (510) 537-1502 or TransfigCCD@aol.com RCIA: Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults Director, Martin Mijalski. Please call the parish office. MUSIC MINISTRY: Director, Alexander Katsman (510) 538-7941, Ext. 302 or Transfig_Music@sbcglobal.net

Mission Statement: “Transfiguring Our Community Through Faith”

Fourth Sunday of Advent December 20, 2015

O L of hosts, look down from heaven and see; take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted.

— Psalm 80:15–16

Transfiguration Catholic Church

Mass Intentions (December 19-26, 2015) Sat. 4:00p.m. Paul & Martha Nguyen Sun. 7:30a.m. For the People 9:00a.m. Elvira Gomes 11:00a.m. Jack Burke Mon. 8:00a.m. Special Intention for Charles Eduru Tues. 8:00a.m. Joel Sousa Wed. 8:00a.m. Special Intention for Manuel & Maria Costa Thurs. 4:00p.m. For the People Midnight For the People Fri. 7:30a.m. For the People 9:00a.m. For the People 11:00a.m. For the People Sat. 4:00p.m. For the People

Stewardship Corner The collection total for the weekend of December 12th & 13th—$10,024.00 (compared to $12,000 average weekly stewardship goal) Religious Retirement—$2,033.00 Thank you for continuing in your stewardship role of providing for the upkeep of our parish community.

Remember Transfiguration in your Will and Living Trust

Pancake Breakfast Team “C” will be hosting the Pancake Breakfast next Sunday after the 7:30a.m. and 9:00a.m. Masses in the Parish Hall. All-you-can-eat pancakes, ham, sausage, scrambled eggs, orange juice, coffee/tea/hot chocolate. Adult: $4, Senior: $3, Child: $3, Family: $8. Be sure to come and enjoy a great meal and the fellowship. See you there!

Coffee and Donuts Mark & Bee Medders will be hosting coffee and donuts this Sunday after the 9:00a.m. Mass. Stop by and enjoy the fellowship.

We extend a warm welcome to new parishioners. Please pick up a registration form in the vestibule of the church and return it to the Parish Office. This helps us to serve you better.

Transfiguration Parish Goal Update Our goal here at Transfiguration Parish for the “Reclaiming Christ’s Mission Together” campaign is $549,431.11. So far, we have raised $325,437.68 (59.23% of our goal). We still have $223,993.43 to be raised. Let’s keep going to reach our goal! If you have not yet responded, please consid-er doing so soon. Remember, our parish will receive 25% of all monies collected up to our goal and 50% of funds raised above our goal. Thank you for your support!

Christmas Schedule Dec. 24th—4:00p.m. Children’s Mass

Midnight Mass—Christmas Carols—11:30p.m. Dec. 25th - 7:30, 9:00, 11:00a.m. January 1, 2016, New Year’s Day

Mass at 10:00a.m. & 7:30p.m. Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God

Holy Day of Obligation

Church Decorating Party for Christmas You’re invited to join us for a decorating party on Monday, December 21 at 7:00pm! There will be Christmas music, Christmas treats, and plenty of Christmas Joy! Help us get our church ready to celebrate our savior’s birth! Please RSVP to Sean Cooper at transfig_youth@sbcglobal.net or (510) 581-5870. (Have a ladder you can bring? Please let us know when you RSVP. Thank you!)

For Your Information The Parish Office will be closed on December 23, 24 & 25, 2015 and January 1, 2016 in observance of the Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays.

Please Note There will be no 8:00a.m. Mass on December 24th.

Dear Parishioners,

A Christmas Prayer

Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels,

the gladness of the shepherds, and worship of the wise men. Close the door of hate and open the door of love

all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children, and Christmas evening

bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus’ sake.

Amen. Fr. Terry and I wish you and your family a Blessed Christmas! Yours in Christ, Fr. Mario Borges

For Your Information When writing your checks for regular or special collections, please make all checks payable to Transfiguration Church (a request made by our bank). The Church will then send one total check for each special collection to the designated charity. Also, please write in the memo portion of your check the name of the collection to which you are donating. This will help the office to give you proper credit. Thank you for your support!

Adult Bible Study There will be no Bible Study on Monday, December 21st and 28th. We will resume in January 2016. Watch the bulletin for more in- formation about the dates.

Attention Amazon Shoppers! Transfiguration is now a registered non-profit on Amazon Smile, Amazon’s charitable giving program. To register your account for donations to Transfiguration, go to smile.amazon. com, search for “Transfiguration Castro Valley”, and click choose. Amazon will then donate .5% of qualifying purchases to Transfiguration! All you have to do is the initial setup, and then go to: smile.amazon.com each time you shop! If you have questions about how the program works, please contact Sean Cooper at 581-5870 or transfig_youth@ sbcglobal.net.

Baptism Class

The next Baptism class will be Tuesday, January 12, 2016. Please call the Parish Office to register.

Lucky & Food Maxx SHARES Program

If you shop at Lucky, Save Mart, or Food Maxx, please be sure to pick up a SHARES card in the vestibule. Swipe your SHARES card at checkout every time you shop, and a dona-tion will be made by Lucky to our youth ministry programs. No need to sign up; just swipe the card when you shop. Feel free to pick up SHARES cards for family and friends.

Thank you for your support!

NO Classes this week.

Thank you to the Faithfulness and Self-Control classes for

assisting at this morning’s 9:00 Liturgy.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

TODAY’S READINGS First Reading: Micah 5:1-4a

Second Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10 Psalm 80 —Gospel: Luke 1:39-45 READINGS FOR THE WEEK

Monday: Sg 2:8-14 or Zep 3:14-18a; Ps 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21; Lk 1:39-45 Tuesday: 1 Sm 1:24-28; 1 Sm 2:1, 4-8abcd; Lk 1:46-56 Wednesday: Mal 3:1-4, 23-34; Ps 25:4-5ab, 8-10, 14; Lk 1:57-66 Thursday: 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16; Ps 89:2-5, 27, 29; Lk 1:67-79 Friday: Vigil: Is 62:1-5; Ps 89:4-5, 16-17, 27, 29; Acts 13:16-17, 22-25; Mt 1:1-25 [18-25] Night: Is 9:1-6; Ps 96:1-3, 11-13; Ti 2:11-14; Lk 2:1-14 Dawn: Is 62:11-12; Ps 97:1, 6, 11-12; Ti 3:4-7; Lk 2:15-20 Day: Is 52:7-10; Ps 98:1-6; Heb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-18 [1-5, 9-14] Saturday: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59; Ps 31:3cd-4, 6, 8ab, 16bc, 17; Mt 10:17-22 Sunday: Sir 3:2-6, 12-14 or 1 Sm 1:20-22, 24-28; Ps 128:1-5 or Ps 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10; Col 3:12-21 [12-17] or 1 Jn 3:1-2, 21-24; Lk 2:41-52

Thank you for advertising in our bulletin. We appreciate your support!

St. Vincent de Paul Meeting Sunday, December 20, 2015—10:00a.m.

Parish Hall—All are welcome.

Congratulations to the parents of: Ashton Kesler Adams who was baptized here last weekend.

Our Confirmation Candidates are at it again…. This time they want Your Blood!

Give the Gift of LIFE!

Transfiguration Church Blood Drive

In our own Mt. Tabor Church Hall Saturday, January 9, 2016

10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

To schedule your appointment Sign-up at the Red Cross table at church

...select Sundays Or

Go online: please log on to redcrossblood.org, enter the Sponsor Code: transfig

Or Phone 1-800 RED CROSS (800-733-2767)

If you have questions regarding your eligibility to donate blood, please call

1-866-236-3276.

Identification is required. The need is constant, the gratification is instant!

Sixty Plus or Minus Club There will be no meeting in January.

Thank You The Music Ministry of Transfiguration would like to thank all of you who came and supported us at our Christmas Concert.

LETTER FROM POPE FRANCIS THE “JOY OF THE GOSPEL” CONTINUED...

The Church’s Missionary Transformation—#112 A people for everyone The salvation which God offers us is the work of his mer-cy. No human efforts, however good they may be, can enable us to merit so great a gift. God, by his sheer grace, draws us to himself and makes us one with him. He sends his Spirit into our hearts to make us his children, trans-forming us and enabling us to respond to his love by our lives. The Church is sent by Jesus Christ as the sacrament of the salvation offered by God. Through her evangeliz-ing activity, she cooperates as an instrument of that divine grace which works unceasingly and inscrutably. Benedict XVI put it nicely at the beginning of the Synod’s reflec-tions: “It is important always to know that the first word, the true initiative, the true activity comes from God and only by inserting ourselves into the divine initiative, only begging for this divine initiative, shall we too be able to become – with him and in him – evangelizers”. This prin-ciple of the primacy of grace must be a beacon which constantly illuminates our reflections on evangelization.

Fr. Terry’s Remarks— We must always remember that Mercy cannot be earned or deserved. We never merit mercy, it flows from the all merciful, all powerful heart of God and we are the blessed recipients, God even gives us the grace to accept his love and mercy. We, the Church, are the Sacrament that the all merciful God uses to evan-gelize, to tell people, to encourage others by our example. And just as mercy is never deserved, so also God freely gives us the Grace to evangelize. His Grace is there for everyone of us, let's live it.